


Sub-Zero Ice Cream

by i_write_fanfics_to_procrastinate



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, Ice Cream Shop AU, its what they DESERVE, just pure fluff, they fall in love D:
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23843659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_fanfics_to_procrastinate/pseuds/i_write_fanfics_to_procrastinate
Summary: Lyon Vastia, owner of the town-famous Sub-Zero Ice Cream shop, needs some help for the busy season. Luckily some friends introduce him to Juvia Lockser, who's looking for a job for the summer. What Lyon didn't expect was to fall head over heels for Juvia the moment he laid eyes on her.
Relationships: Juvia Lockser/Lyon Vastia, Juvia x Lyon, Juvia/Lyon, Laxui - Relationship, Laxus Dreyar/Hisui E. Fiore, Lyon x Juvia, Lyon/Juvia, Lyvia - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Juvia

"There! One Mint chocolate chip, and one salted caramel!" Lyon passed the two ice cream cones over the counter with his signature smile, but as soon as the customers turned away with a thank you, he let out a deep sigh, practically melting against the counter.

"So, do I get free ice cream once I'm done?" A voice grunted from in the back. Lyon gritted his teeth, stepping away from the counter and into the backroom where all his freezers were. It was the hottest day of summer, so far. And one of his freezers was broken—of course. Typical bad luck. On top of that, his air conditioner was busted. It was hotter inside then it was outside—even with all the windows open. And it was so busy. It seemed like everyone who was out and about was stopping into his shop. He hadn't had a moment to even ask Laxus to look at the air conditioning.

"Are you almost done?" Lyon sighed, looking down at where Laxus sat, with the freezer pulled away from the wall.

"Tsk, like you have to ask." Laxus grinned, snapping a plate back on over the wires. "It's done."

Lyon let out a relieved sighed, "Thank god," He groaned. He heard the door at the shop open once more. _Not a moment to even talk._ "Just give me a second."

Another group of customers to serve, and then another, and then another. By the time Lyon had a moment, Laxus was done putting the fridge back in its place, and though Lyon hadn't told him about the air conditioner, the electrician was already examining it.

"Hey," Laxus said, stepping out from the backroom. "You uhh… look pretty busy."

"No kidding," Lyon said, handing another cone to someone over the counter.

"You know," Laxus said, crossing his arms.

Lyon glanced back and offered him a frown, "Aren't you supposed to be doing your electrician thing on my air conditioner? It's like eighty degrees in here." He whined.

"Geez," Laxus smirked, "You really don't like the heat huh? I'm working on it. But I have something I want to tell you," He said. "You need help, Lyon. You can't keep running this shop by yourself. Especially not during the summer."

Lyon let out a sigh in response, serving up three more cones. "You're saying I should hire someone to help out."

"You haven't even had time to clean the tables today, or sweep." Laxus huffed. "Lucky for you… I know someone who's looking for a job."

"Oh." Lyon blinked, glancing over at the electrician. "You're _finally_ being helpful."

"Hey!" Laxus scoffed and then laughed a little. "Our friend Jellal, his little sister is in town for the summer. She's going to university on the other side of the country, but she's looking for a summer job."

"Oh." Lyon had met Jellal once or twice when he came into the shop. He had spoken about his sister once or twice. _Juvia._ But Lyon had never met her.

"I think you should offer her a job," Laxus said.

"Have a nice day!" Lyon beamed, handing the customer one last ice cream cone, before turning to Laxus, and studying the blonde with aggravation. "If I promise to at least talk to this girl will you _fix my air conditioning?_ "

Laxus laughed, "Gods, Lyon, you're really not built for the hot."

"Would you just fix it before I melt?!" Lyon snapped.

"I'm working on it." Laxus turned back to his work, and Lyon rushed to wipe down the tables before more customers came in. After a moment Laxus said, "Once I get this fixed I'll text Hisui. She has Juvia's number. I know she'll be happy to help."

⁂

 _Finally…_ It was afterhours. Lyon dropped against the counter, exhausted. The sign on the door read closed. _At least Laxus was able to fix the AC._ He was almost ready to fall asleep, against the cool counter, the hum of the freezers storing all his ice cream lulling him off. But there was a sudden soft rapping on the door.

"We're _closed_ ," he groaned. But the rapping was insistent. So Lyon glanced up to see someone—a young woman—standing just outside the shop. He groaned. _This must be the Juvia person… Jellal's sister…_

So Laxus really had sent her over. "Coming!" Lyon ran his fingers through his pale hair and came around the counter to unlock the front door. The moment the door swung open the breath was sucked out of Lyon's lungs. He felt like his heart was being crushed. _This angel! This can't be Jellal's sister?! Is she?!_ He had never seen anyone so beautiful. _Is this… love at first sight?!_ His heart was hammering in his chest. He felt warm all over. He was lost in her deep blue eyes, the soft pink flush of her cheeks, and those beautiful long blue curls.

"Umm…" She flushed a deeper pink. "Are you Lyon Vastia?"

He clutched his chest, choking on the next words. "Y-yes."

"My name is Juvia Lockser! And… Hisui said you're looking for some help this summer?"

"Y-yes." Lyon nodded, still trying to speak despite how weak he felt. "U-um! Come in!" He took a step back, holding the door open for the aqua beauty. She smiled a little as she stepped in hands clasped.

"Juvia would be happy to help this summer doing anything!" She beamed. "Juvia can clean! Juvia can serve ice cream!"

 _It would be… very bad to have her here every day._ He couldn't even think straight. _I would be so distracted…_ He couldn't look away from her beautiful eyes. _Then again…_

⁂

The door swung open early the next morning as Lyon was hefting buckets of ice cream into the display case. "Good morning, Lyon-sama!" Juvia was standing in the doorway, her hands clasped, her beautiful curls tied up in a ponytail. "Juvia is very glad to be working with you."

Her smile almost made him drop his bucket. _Yeah._ Lyon took in a shaky breath. _This is going to be hard._ He smiled a little, shoving the last bucket of ice cream into place. "Good morning… Juvia."


	2. Strawberry

“Welcome!” Juvia beamed as the front bell jangled. As per usual, her smile made Lyon weak. He groaned, forcing himself to look away. He had started Juvia out with cleaning, and taking orders. But he stayed on scooping ice cream, despite there still being so much left to do in the _making_ the ice cream department of his shop. With his freezers all fixed, he could fill them again. He had been up all night working on starting several new batches.

“What would you like today?” Juvia smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. _How in the world is this woman so sweet?_ She baffled him. From the warmth in her deep blue eyes, to the flush of her pale cheeks. She was the kindest, most adorable person Lyon had ever met, and she had only been working in his shop for three days.

“I want two scoops of strawberry!” The little girl at the counter said. Her eyes were almost as wide as saucers. Her parents stood behind her shaking their heads and laughing.

“Strawberry! That’s Juvia’s favorite flavor as well,” Juvia said. “Lyon-sama!” She turned towards where he stood by the display. “Two scoops of strawberry, please.”

_I’m going to melt._ Since Juvia had started working here, the shop seemed much hotter—despite the air conditioning being fixed, _finally_.

“T-two scoops of strawberry,” He nodded, quickly grabbing a cone and getting to work. Soon enough the order was filled out and the customers were on their way.

“Lyon-sama! Juvia is going to wipe down the tables. Maybe if no one else comes Juvia will have time to clean the windows.” She smiled.

“You should take a lunch break soon,” Lyon said, taking note of which flavors needed restocking in the display.

“It’s okay!” Juvia said, offering him one of her stunning smiles. “Juvia doesn’t mind tidying up a little before she eats lunch!”

_How… does she do this to me?_ Just her smile made his heart pound. He felt flushed. “Thank you, Juvia,” he said, “I really do appreciate all your help. And… uhh… when you take a lunch, why don’t you have a scoop of strawberry as well?”

Her expression softened, her cheeks flushing a light pink. “Juvia would really like that, if Lyon-sama would join her?”

Lyon blinked. “Join… you…?”

“Have some ice cream!” Juvia beamed, “You deserve a break too!”

So somehow, he ended up sitting across from her with a kid-sized cone of chocolate ice cream. She was talking about her family—her big brother and their parents—how she was glad to be home. “The ocean is so close,” she said with a sigh. “The _familiar_ ocean, Juvia means. Juvia is studying oceanography, you know? But it’s farther up the coast where Juvia goes to school, and it just doesn’t feel so familiar. Here, Juvia can relax.” She leaned back in her seat, taking another bite of her cone, Lyon’s famous strawberry ice cream dotting her lip. He glanced away, feeling his cheeks go hot again. _Say something, Lyon._ He had been staring, and had been too quiet for too long.

“You like swimming?” He asked.

“Juvia loves the water,” Juvia nodded. “Swimming, surfing—anything!”

“You surf?” Lyon’s eyes widened.

Juvia flushed, “Sometimes… Sometimes Juvia does.”

“That’s amazing,” Lyon whispered. _You’re staring again, Lyon._ His ice cream was melting. “I always prefer the beach I the winter, when it’s cooler and the sand is wet. You can walk along the beach and the wind is _cold_.” He smiled a little.

Juvia offered him a soft smile, “Juvia likes the beach no matter what season it is.”

“Maybe someday we can—” He was interrupted by the sound of the bell on the front door, and he jumped to his feet, downing his kid-sized chocolate ice cream in two enormous bites, and rushing to the counter without even glancing at who had stepped in.

“Hi, what can I get you….” His voice died in his throat and he let out a deep sigh. “Oh. Gray.”

“Lyon.” Gray nodded, “Uh… Mom wanted me to stop by to pick up the pints she ordered for dad’s birthday.”

“Right. They’re in the back, let me grab them.” Lyon rolled his eyes, and shuffled to the back room, leaving Juvia looking rather bewildered in her seat in one of the booths. When he came back, Gray was waiting at the counter, hands in his pockets.

“Thanks,” he said, taking the bag off Lyon’s hands.

He turned and paused, blinking at Juvia, “This the girl who’s working here now?”

“Who told you about that?” Lyon glared.

“Your mom told _my_ mom and _my_ mom told dad and I over dinner.”

Lyon scoffed. Of _course_ , she did. “Juvia, this is my cousin Gray.”

“Nice to meet you,” Gray nodded. “So, you’re really working for this brat.” He grinned gesturing to Lyon.

“Gray!” Lyon snapped, “I’m _older_ than you, you jerk!”

“I’m just kidding,” Gray shrugged, “I’m _just_ kidding. You’re coming for dinner right?”

Lyon let out a deep sigh, “Probably.”

“See you then.” And his cousin stepped out the door—gone.

“Sorry about that,” Lyon groaned.

“It’s alright,” Juvia smiled, “It reminds Juvia of when she and Jellal used to fight a lot. You and Gray seem like brothers.”

“I guess in a lot of ways we are. My mother practically raised Gray for a few years when we were young. After… well, never mind. That’s all in the past.”

“Juvia guesses we should get back to work,” Juvia said, beginning to clean up her lunch. “It’s going to get busy again this afternoon!” She turned to face him, that beautiful smile that made him weak. “Thank you for talking with me over lunch, Lyon-sama!”

“Any time,” he nodded.

* * *

That evening he restocked the ice cream in the display. It was late. He had told his mom he’d be home for dinner. He let out a deep sigh, pausing as he dropped the strawberry tub in. _Her favorite flavor is strawberry._ He hadn’t ever really thought there was anything very remarkable about strawberry, though he knew his mother also really liked his strawberry ice cream…

Lyon frowned, grabbed a cone, and scooped himself some strawberry ice cream. He locked up the shop, eating the ice cream as he walked home. He glanced out once over towards the ocean where the sun was setting, turning the water red. _That’s right._ He had wanted to ask her if …. One day she might go on a walk with him along the beach.

_What are you doing, Lyon?_ He glanced down at the strawberry ice cream, his heart skipping a beat. _What in the world are you doing?_ There was just something about Juvia that… drove him crazy. Maybe if she wasn’t working for him he would have asked her out on a date already… Then he frowned. _What… what’s preventing you from asking her out?_

“I… _I_ own the ice cream shop.” He blinked, blush rising in his cheeks. _What’s the worst that could happen?_ She could say no. But… what if she said yes? What if… she had the same feeling—that there was something special… something worth chasing.

_Tomorrow… tomorrow I’ll ask Juvia if she wants to go out with me._


End file.
